Converse College

Converse College
Type Women's Undergraduate College. Co-Ed Graduate Programs
Established 1889
Endowment $78.24 million[1]
President Krista Newkirk
Provost Jeffrey Barker
Students 1,389
Undergraduates 822
Postgraduates 567
Location Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States
34°57′16.59″N 81°55′01.51″W / 34.9546083°N 81.9170861°W / 34.9546083; -81.9170861
Campus Urban
70 acres (0.3 km2)
Colors Purple and Gold
Sports Softball, Basketball, Soccer, Cross Country, Tennis, Volleyball, Swimming, Lacrosse, Equestrian, Golf, Track & Field
Mascot Valkyries
Affiliations Conference Carolinas
Website converse.edu

Converse College is a liberal arts masters university in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Converse consists of an undergraduate women's college as well as co-ed graduate, online and summer programs. It was established by a group of Spartanburg residents and named after textile pioneer Dexter Edgar Converse.

History

Converse College Historic District
Location 580 E. Main St., Spartanburg, South Carolina
Area 20 acres (8.1 ha)
Built 1891 (1891)-1915
Architect Hook, Charles
Architectural style Late Gothic Revival, Romanesque, Richardson Romanesque
NRHP Reference # 75001706[2]
Added to NRHP November 12, 1975

Converse College opened on October 1, 1889, with a student body of 168 and 16 faculty members. The college operated as a "stock company" with the board of directors composed entirely of residents of Spartanburg. Dexter Edgar Converse, a native of Vermont who had settled in Spartanburg before the American Civil War and had become a successful pioneer in the cotton mill industry, served as the head of the first board of directors. On January 2, 1892, fire destroyed the college's main building. The building was enlarged during its reconstruction. In 1896, the college was incorporated in South Carolina and a self-perpetuating board of trustees was named. In 1964, the college introduced graduate programs.

The Converse College Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[2] It encompasses eight contributing buildings dated between 1891 and 1915. They are the Main Building (Wilson Hall) (1892), Annex (Pell Hall, 1891), Twichell Auditorium (1898-1899), Carnegie Library (1905), Cleveland House (c. 1905), Judd Science Hall (1915), Dexter Hall (1899) and Towne House (1898). The buildings are representative of the Romanesque Revival, Gothic Revival, and Neo-Classical styles.[3][4]

Description

It has an undergraduate enrollment of about 800 women who come from throughout the United States. The graduate enrollment of about 550 students is made up of both men and women.

Departments

Athletics

Official athletics logo.

Converse College teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division II. The Valkyries are a member of the Conference Carolinas. Women's sports include basketball, cross country, equestrian, lacrosse, soccer, softball, track and field, golf, tennis, swimming and volleyball.

Presidents

Name Years served
Benjamin F. Wilson 1890–1902
Robert Paine Pell 1902–1932
Edward Moseley Gwathmey 1933–1955
Oliver Cromwell Carmichael, Jr. 1956–1960
Robert T. Coleman, Jr. 1961–1989
Ellen Wood Hall 1989–1993
Sandra C. Thomas 1994–1998
Nancy Oliver Gray 1999–2005
Elizabeth A. Fleming 2006—2016

Notable alumnae

Notes

The concert hall, Converse College
  1. ↑ As of June 30, 2013. "Converse College Best Colleges US News". US News and World Report. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  2. 1 2 National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. ↑ Mary Ann Eaddy and Georgianna Graham (May 1975). "Converse Heights Historic District" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
  4. ↑ "Converse College Historic District, Spartanburg County (Spartanburg)". National Register Properties in South Carolina. South Carolina Department of Archives and History. Retrieved 2014-07-01. and accompanying map
  5. ↑ "Broadway actress Kimilee Bryant returns to Greenville". The Greenville News. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Phyllis P. Harris". Retrieved 17 February 2016.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Converse College.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.